I’m a labrador with a tennis ball when it comes to rugby, says Harry
PRINCE HARRY has told how he had to give up rugby after suffering “numerous injuries”, admitting he still pines for the game like a “labrador with a tennis ball”.
The Prince, who attended a training session to watch the England rugby team prepare for their Six Nations match against Scotland next weekend, said he could not resist joining in whenever he was near a rugby ball. In a morning session at Twickenham, he spent time with the England squad and met players from LBGT teams, schemes to help young offenders and a charity that reaches lonely older people through rugby.
He said: “Everybody of any size, any background, can get together, beat each other up on the pitch – within the rules of the game of course – and get together afterwards.”
Prince Harry, the Rugby Football Union patron, attended the open training session in front of 10,000 supporters from clubs and schools.
Many are beneficiaries of Try for Change, an England Rugby programme to improve the lives of disadvantaged people.
Prince Harry told them he “played for years”, adding: “I played scrum half for about five or six years until I got too tall and instead of being a forward I elected to be a fly-half.”
He no longer plays, he added, because of “numerous injuries”. “I’m like a labrador with a tennis ball,” he said. “As soon as I see a rugby ball ...”
Speaking to teenage players who had turned their behaviour around thanks to rugby, he told them the “social environment” of rugby would instill good values to set them up for life.
“The discipline is crucial, the teamwork, the respect for others,” he said.
The Prince was greeted by cheers as he stepped out on to the pitch, observing from the stands for a while before joining Jonny Wilkinson and Richard Hill, the England team manager, for a discussion about the team’s prospects.
Player James Haskell said afterwards: “He’s always got something positive to say and always ready to give a bit of stick when needed. You’ve got to love that.” Asked whether Harry could be persuaded to join in, he added: “I’m sure he would do. Given half a chance, I’m sure we could get him out for a bit of touch [rugby].”